Deer Hunting 2009

[Weekend_Sawyer]

I like those horns Magicman. I am stalking a 5 point here myself. It's got a nice 4 point on one side and a large 6 to 8 "spike on the other. Prime cantidate for a European Mount, and jerky!!!

[Magicman]

I have one more to take out.  He has 3-4 on one side and that same mess on the other side.  Given a choice, I'll take him rather than a "good" buck.  I hunt my own property and a "man's gotta do what a man's gotta do".   There is also a loooong spike, short spike that had better keep out of sight..... ;D

[Weekend_Sawyer]

  I picked off that 5 point with my bow yesterday evening. This counts tward muzzleloader as it is muzzleloader season now. Maryland is really trying to cut down on the deer population. You can take 2 bucks and unlimited does in bow season and 2 bucks and 10 does in muzzleloader season and gun season. So even if you don't bow hunt you can take 24 deer! This is incredable to me because when I was growing up here you never saw a deer! Now they are everywhere.

By the way I now have more meat in my freezer than vegetables, and that's how I like it.  ;D

Jon

[Magicman]

Another "cull" took his last step this evening.  He stepped out in front of my 12 year old grandson.  A Browning A Bolt 7mm-08 took care of him.  This one's problem was not genetic.  He had a cripple right hind foot, which made the left antler ma-form.

I have at least one more cull that needs to go.  I plan to be back several days next week.  We are now in the absolute peak of the breeding season.

[Magicman]

I got this 10 point yesterday.  He was a 6X4??  Strange and he was 5 1/2 years old.

[WDH]

MM,

I hope you like sausage  ;D.

[DWM II]

Magicman, its good to see you have two passions, sawin wood and killin deer! Particularly that young man with the 7 pt.

[ErikC]

  Magicman, are you able to hunt does on your place for management also? A few years of what you are doing should leave some real trophies running around. Hope you have good neighbors.....

BTW I have a 7mm-08 A-bolt. It's a good all around caliber that's pretty nice to shoot. I have the matte blueing with synthetic stock. Mine was a little hard to get a good shooting load for-kinda finicky about bullet type-but once I got one it liked it settled right down. 160 gr Barnes X with Varget powder. Was yours like that at all?

[Burlkraft]

Got a call from Beenthere last night. He shot me a doe that I gotta go pick up today  8)  8)

He was outta buck tags and we got a earn a buck system here, so by shootin' me a doe he gets to go after his big buck again  8)  8)  8)  8)

Thanks Kent!  ;D  ;D

[fishpharmer]

Nice deer MM.

Burlkraft,
I'll shoot two does for you will come get them ;D

[Magicman]

ErikC,  We get 3 bucks and 5 does.  I personally only shoot 1 doe, which I have already done.  I won't shoot another buck unless it is a cull, or is a real bruiser.  I saw 6 bucks Monday, 3 Tuesday and 3 this morning.

I shoot a .280 Browining A Bolt.  The wife and three grandsons all shoot 7mm-08's.  They are using Remington factory stuff.  I bought several boxes of Federal Fusion to try.  We all shoot 140 gr.   We've not had any problems at the sight-in bench. 

[moonhill]

Maine has a bucks only law and this year it applied to the youth day as well.  You can take only one.  24 would fill the freezer for sure.  Can you sell the meat or are you allowed only to give it away?   

Tim.   

[WDH]

Bag limit in Georgia is 12, but only two can be bucks, and one of those must have 4 points on one side. 

[iffy]

Just received this email from a friend.

From Terry Short a Warden in Upper Michigan.
From our raid on St. Martins Island on Nov. 19, 2009.
31 bucks and 9 does on the pole. Nothing smaller than a 7 point.10 deer, antlers, and heads found on the ground around the camp. A mix of smaller bucks and does. 10 deer without tags, approx. another 10 deer with wives/girlfriends tags.
Investigation continues....

I didn't receive it from Terry Short, and don't know if it's legit. Here is one of the pictures attached.

[beenthere]

Some google searching indicates it is legit. And wardens determined there was no "poaching" going on, as there were tags for all the deer (just hadn't put tags on 10 of them yet, of which they received citations for that).

Some obvious good deer hunting, but wonder how long that island will sustain that amount of hunting. Sure must be less crowded now than it was before. 

[Jeff]

Michigan has lots of islands, some of them are totally privately owned.  St. Martins Island is one of those.

By Bill Parker
Michigan Outdoor News Editor
Published:
Friday, December 11, 2009 9:38 AM CST
Lake Orion, Mich. - A series of pictures circulating on the Internet of a buck pole on St. Martin Island in Lake Michigan is creating a buzz among the hunting fraternity.

The tiny island is located off Wisconsin's Door County Pennisula, in Michigan's Delta County, just inside the Michigan/Wisconsin boundary.

Despite reports of a poaching ring, which are circulating with some of the pictures, detective Lt. Wade Hamilton of the DNR Law Enforcement Division's Special Investigations Unit says the photos are bigger than the story.

Michigan COs visited the privately-owned 2 1⁄4-mile by 1 1⁄4-mile island on a routine patrol on Nov. 19, he said.

"We made contact with 20 to 30 hunters out there in numerous deer camps," Hamilton said. "We issued 11 tickets for tagging violations and cited them into court in Delta County."

Hamilton said all hunters appeared to have permission to be on the island and that there were no trespass issues or other game law violations.

"The pictures are accurate," he said. "They had quite a buck pole."

The trip to the island was not precipitated by a complaint, but was part of a routine patrol.

"Officers have always worked patrols on various islands when time permits," he said. "We weren't there on opening day, but we made it out there by the 19th. There's an old adage that you never know when a CO will show up, and we like to keep it like that."

[iffy]

Sorry I didn't research it myself, but was pressed for time. Figured some of you guys living up there would have the straight skinny. Thanks.

[Magicman]

I got another buck this afternoon.  It was that other "cull" that I was looking for.  I took pictures, but left the camera at the cabin.  I'll post pictures when I fetch the camera.

[Samuel]

You are still hunting this time of year?  Gee that must suck! :D

[Magicman]

Our regular gun season goes until the 20th, and then primitive season until the 31st.

[Samuel]

Perhaps one day we could exchange hunting trips...you come to Northern Alberta and I'll guide you to a 150-200 class Mule Deer or White-tail, in exchange for a January hunt down south.  :D

Thoughts?

[Magicman]

Sounds like a plan.  I was in Alberta in 1997, but only passing through on our trip to Alaska.

[Samuel]

Sounds good to me too!

[Magicman]

Looks like Valleyview was as close as I got to you.

[Samuel]

146 km or 1.5 hrs on a good day to Valley View.  Not far at all.